Kucukali, E. (2017). Teacher identity and transnational
experience: A case of an EFL teacher from Georgia
teaching in Turkey. International Online Journal of
Education and Teaching (IOJET), 4(4), 458-473.
http://iojet.org/index.php/IOJET/article/view/269/183
Received: 05.08.2017
Received in revised form: 03.09.2017
Accepted: 15.09.2017
TEACHER IDENTITY AND TRANSNATIONAL EXPERIENCE: A CASE OF AN
EFL TEACHER FROM GEORGIA TEACHING IN TURKEY
Emel Kucukali
Marmara University, Turkey
emel.kucukali@marmara.edu.tr
Emel Kucukali is currently a Ph.D. student in the department of English Language Education,
Yeditepe University. She is an instructor of English and Russian at Marmara University and
is interested in multilingualism, L3 acquisition, intercultural competence and academic
writing.
Copyright by Informascope. Material published and so copyrighted may not be published
elsewhere without the written permission of IOJET.
http://iojet.org/index.php/IOJET/article/view/269/183
mailto:emel.kucukali@marmara.edu.tr
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5162-6914
Kucukali
458
TEACHER IDENTITY AND TRANSNATIONAL EXPERIENCE: A
CASE OF AN EFL TEACHER FROM GEORGIA TEACHING IN
TURKEY
Emel Kucukali
emel.kucukali@marmara.edu.tr
Abstract
The article presents a case study of an experienced non-native EFL teacher with educational
background and teaching experience from her home country Georgia, and with a present EFL
teaching position in her host country Turkey. Based on interview and graphic elicitation data,
the study explored the changes which her teacher identity had undergone after interaction
between her Georgian background and new Turkish context. These changes were
investigated from social constructivist perspective in terms of culture, professional
development, reflectivity, motivation, theory-practice integration and collaboration. Data
were analyzed through structural, in vivo, open and theory-driven coding. The results
indicated three main changes involving the following themes: (1) intercultural competence,
(2) teacher development, and (3) collaboration. These transformations were identified with
the development of three sub-identities respectively: intercultural, professional and social.
The findings are consistent with multifaceted and dynamic nature of teacher identity. As for
implementations, transnational teaching experience should be fostered by institutions and
intercultural competency should be integrated into teacher education disciplines.
Keywords: intercultural context, social constructivism, teacher identity, transnational
experience
1. Introduction
Identity has been interpreted (Sheridan, 2013) as a dynamic, constantly changing
formation influenced by contexts and shaped by experiences (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009;
Sachs, 2005; Walkington, 2010). Therefore, teacher identity shifts and develops as a result of
interaction with the classroom or institution (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Beijaard, Meijer,
& Verloop, 2004; Sheridan, 2013), and when exposed to new teaching experiences in these
contexts (Conle, 1996). Previous research (Beijaard et al., 2004; Norton, 1997) emphasized
the influence of context on teacher identity formation and the gap in the literature on this
issue (Beijaard et al., 2004). The research (Menard‐Warwick, 2008; Patricia & Uchida,
1997) on intercultural and international context and its impact on teacher identity seems to be
even less. For this reason, the present case study will attempt to explore the effects of
transnational experience on teacher identity by examining the transformations which a non-
native EFL teacher undergoes after the interaction between the teaching contexts of her home
country Georgia, and her host country Turkey. The changes will be explored from social
constructivist perspective and aspects including intercultural competence, professional
development, and teacher collaboration.
2. Literature Review
2.1. Social Constructivism and Teacher Identity
Teacher identity seems to be a very complex and dynamic concept because a single
definition was not spotted but some features of it were underlined in literature. Based on
mailto:emel.kucukali@marmara.edu.tr
International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET) 2017, 4(4), 458-473.
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some sources (Beijaard et al., 2004; Lasky, 2005), teacher identity could be summarized as
teachers’ biographies, beliefs and concepts of their professional roles. In addition, a meta-
analysis (Norton, 1997) of five articles on identity reveals the complex, and multifaceted
nature of identity and finds out that identity is ‘dynamic across time and place’ (p. 419)
because the participants from the examined studies have undergone significant changes after
moving across countries and institutions. Similarly, moving across time results in pre-service
teachers’ perceptions change from teacher- to more student-centered approach during their
degree (Sheridan, 2013). The complex and dynamic nature of teacher identity is supported by
another meta-analysis (Beijaard et al., 2004) of 22 studies on teacher identity, in which some
features of teacher identity development have been extracted. These features were
summarized as, (1) being an ongoing learning process of framing and reframing experiences,
(2) being affected by the context and personal preconceptions, (3) embracing sub-identities,
which may cause identity conflicts in cases of context change and (4) the teacher acting as a
self-agent in the process of constructing their professional identity.
Due to its dynamic nature, teacher identity construction has been associated (Abednia,
2012) with teachers’ learning process and their professional development (Barrett, 2008;
Varghese, Morgan, Johnston, & Johnson, 2005; Nguyen, 2008). Social constructivism itself
explains learning of teachers as a process of change in their personal conceptions due to the
interaction between their new learning, old experiences and their social context (Roberts,
2016). Therefore, from social constructivist view, teacher identity formation is a learning
process through which identity shifts as constructed preconceptions are reframed when
teachers are exposed to new contexts and experiences (Korthagen, Kessels, Koster,
Lagerwerf, & Wubbles, 2008; Sheridan, 2013). Beijaard et al., (2004) also suggested that the
process of teacher identity formation is in line with constructivism in terms of learning and
changing conceptions with the interaction of context, beliefs, and experience.
Teacher identity develops through interactions with context which means communicating
with others in the classroom and institution and learning by associating of prior and new
teaching experiences (Conle, 1996). For this reason, in the present study, the changes in
teacher identity will be approached from the aspects of collaboration, teacher development,
and culture. Because teacher identity consists of multiple sub-identities (Beijaard et al., 2004)
collaboration could be represented by the social sub-identity of teachers as their relationship
with the school, institution, colleagues, and students (Norton, 1997). When teachers have
long-term living experience in different countries, their multi-cultural viewpoint could be
identified with their cultural sub-identity (Norton, 1997). Teacher development might be
mirrored in their professional identity as their understanding of professional roles (Lasky,
2005) and improvement (Abednia, 2012).
2.1.1. Professional development, collaboration and reflectivity
From a constructivist point of view, teachers develop professionally when they apply their
previous beliefs and experience in a new context, and when they take the role of “reflective
practitioner”, not the “technician” role of just following the standard procedures (Roberts,
2016). They undergo Dewey’s reflective cycle through facing a dilemma, reframing
problems, finding an alternative solution and, therefore, broadening and changing their
perspective (Roberts, 2016). In addition, professional development could benefit from teacher
research as it fosters teachers’ reflective, critical, analytical and autonomous approach to their
own teaching (Borg, 2010, p. 402). While connecting previous with new experiences,
teachers need not only to reflect but also to integrate theory with practice for their
professional development (Tang, Wong, & Cheng, 2016, pp. 57-58) and adequate decision-
making process in the classroom (Borg, 2010, pp. 402-403).
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Along with open-mindedness, responsibility, and wholeheartedness, the contribution of
Dewey’s reflective cycle to teacher development is teacher collaboration, as making a
decision in collaboration with the other participants is required in the process (Zeichner &
Liston, 1996). Teacher collaboration during a reflective process is in association with the
social constructivist approach to learning within the social context (Roberts, 2016).
2.1.2. Intercultural competence
Because the study focuses on transnational teaching experience, concepts of intercultural
competence and awareness are supposed to be presented beforehand. According to the
Council of Europe (2003), intercultural competence is to manage the relationship and mutual
understanding between home and others. Intercultural awareness is the objective
understanding of similarities and differences between home and target culture, accepting
cultural diversity, and objective knowledge and perspective to this cultural diversity. In
addition, it is about interrelation and development of language and culture competence and
becoming open to new cultural experiences (Council of Europe, 2001).
2.2. Previous Research
The research on intercultural context and its influence on teacher identity does not seem to
be in a considerable amount. A study about Japanese EFL teachers and native English
teachers teaching in Japan (Patricia & Uchida, 1997), indicates that biographical, professional
and contextual factors transformed teachers’ sociocultural identities. While adapting to their
context and roles, teachers were solving problems in the classroom and were engaged with
teaching culture. Another study (Menard‐Warwick, 2008), focuses on cases of two
bicultural (Latino-English) teachers of English with transnational teaching experience in the
US and Latin America. The findings reveal that these teachers developed their intercultural
identity and adopted a different approach to teaching cultural issues: one of the teachers
focused mainly on subjective comparison of cultural differences, the other underwent cultural
changes because of globalization.
The present study may contribute to researchers who are interested in teacher identity
phenomenon and teacher education. This study may also add to the field by investigating the
effects of international contexts on teacher identity and differently from the previous
research, with a participant who is a non-native EFL teacher teaching in a non-English
speaking country. The teachers from previous research are native or bilingual teachers
exposed to two cultures, their own and that of the host country, while the teacher in the
present study has to deal with three cultures: her own, that of the host country and English. In
addition, the potential findings may give support to social constructivist approach to teachers’
learning and development within a social context (Roberts, 2016).
2.3. Research Questions
From the literature review, it could be concluded that there is a gap in literature related to
the cultural aspect of context and its influence on teacher identity. For the purpose of the
present paper, the following question was posed:
RQ1: What is the impact of transnational teaching experience in Georgia and Turkey on the
Teacher Identity of an EFL teacher from Georgia?
3. Method
3.1. The Participant
One participant was selected through purposeful intensity sampling as an in-depth and rich
source of data (Patton, 2002). The participant is a 16-year experienced EFL teacher from
International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET) 2017, 4(4), 458-473.
461
Georgia. She was born, did her BA and MA, and had eight-year teaching experience in
Georgia. Now, she has been living and teaching English in Turkey for eight years, and she is
a member of PDU (Professional Development Unit) in the institution she is working at. In
order to keep participant’s identity confidential, she will be referred to by a code (P), not by
name in the study (See Appendix A for interview protocol).
3.2. Data Collection Methods
Data collection was conducted in June 2016, at a Turkish state university and lasted about
an hour. Qualitative methods like an individual semi-structured interview (Frankel & Wallen,
2009) and two graphic elicitation tools (Bagnoli, 2009) were used to explore the phenomenon
in-depth and get intense data (Rossman & Rallis, 2011). The individual interview was
conducted once, was audio recorded and then transcribed. Interview questions were
developed by the author and aimed to reveal the shifts in P’s perceptions of teaching after she
started to work in Turkey (See Appendix A for interview questions). The questions focused
on the changes in P in terms of culture, professional development, motivation, reflectivity,
theory-practice integration, teaching philosophy and collaboration as potential aspects of
teachers’ learning within a social context (Roberts, 2016). Right after the interview,
participant completed two visual tasks (See Appendix B for graphic elicitation tasks). In task
1 the participant was asked to express the differences between Turkish and Georgian teaching
contexts by drawing on a sheet of paper. In task 2 she was asked to draw her timeline and
mark the critical events which have affected her perceptions of teaching in her professional
biography. The aim of the visual tasks was to compare visually the two contexts and to assess
their importance on a biography scale.
3.3. Data Analysis
Data were analyzed through structural, in vivo (Saldaña, 2013), open and theory-driven
coding (De Cuir-Gunby, Marshall, & McCulloch, 2011) by two independent coders. The first
reading was assisted by open and in vivo coding to elicit the key concept from the raw data.
In the second reading, the key concepts were matched with the RQ and theory, and then
reframed as codes by means of structural and theory-driven coding. After two coders
compared each other's codes to check consistency, the inconsistent codes were negotiated and
modified or added as sub-codes to larger coders, which after a unanimous decision resulted in
the formation of nine codes in the final codebook (see Appendix C for final codebook). Then,
the codes were categorized under three themes which gave an overall answer to the RQ of the
present case study.
3.4. Validity and Reliability
The trustworthiness of the current study was supported by triangulation, member
checking, and an inter-coder reliability analysis by using SPSS program. Triangulation was
used to verify the findings through multiple data sources (Miles, Huberman, & Saldana,
2013): an individual interview (Frankel & Wallen, 2009) and two graphic elicitation tasks
(Bagnoli, 2009) representing verbal and non-verbal data respectively. To support reliability,
inter-coder reliability analysis using the Kappa statistic was performed to determine
consistency between two independent coders of the data (Landis & Koch, 1977). The inter-
coder reliability for 11 codes of interview data was found to be Kappa = 0.80 (“Sig” = ,000; p
< 0.001), and for 10 codes of visual tasks was found to be Kappa = 0.78 (“Sig”= ,000; p <
0.001), which is a significant result and considered to be a substantial agreement between two
coders (Viera & Garrett, 2005). What is more, in order to clarify and verify the
interpretations of the data, the interview record and final codes were sent to the participant
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462
for member checking (Sandelowski,1993), which resulted in confirmation by the participant
herself.
4. Findings
The nine codes from the data analysis (See Appendix C for final codebook) were
categorized under three main themes, which revealed three areas of development in the
teacher identity of the participant: (1) Intercultural competence, (2) Professional development
and (3) Collaboration. Both the individual interview and the graphic elicitation tasks were
consistent with each other and supported the findings above.
4.1. Individual Interview
4.1.1. Intercultural competence
Three codes were grouped under the first finding: Higher “Language Awareness”, Higher
Inter-Cultural Awareness and Higher “General Knowledge”. These three codes represent the
changes in terms of culture and language. One of the first effects of teaching in a foreign
country mentioned by P (the Participant) is that she had increased her language awareness
because as a foreigner living in Turkey, she had to communicate in English and this
improved her English and language skills:
P: I think the language awareness of mine has increased because I think my English
has improved as well because here (in Turkey), although I am not in English speaking
country I have to communicate in English. Especially for the first year when you
don’t speak any Turkish at all.
The next cultural change is that P has increased her inter-cultural awareness after some
cultural conflicts, as she refers to herself as becoming more tolerant, ethical and open-minded
to other cultures when teaching:
R: What kind of teaching approach you are using now in the classroom, as a result of
all these (culture) conflicts?
P: Careful, interactive, less prejudicial, judgmental, more tolerant from psychological
point of view but first time when teaching the language, you should not forget about
that either, but of course, you become more open-minded to all the cultures and
Turkey is such a huge country which is very diverse in cultures, it is like mosaic. […].
So, you have to be very careful about touching upon your topics you are talking
about.
One concrete advantage of this intercultural awareness in her EFL classroom according to P
is the increase of students talking time because,
P: … I am a foreigner, I come from different culture, I might not know something but
also it gives a big advantage for me because I also increased students’ talking time in
the class because I am a foreigner I have the right to ask them …about Turkish
culture.
The last cultural effect of teaching abroad on P is that she has enlarged her general
knowledge after experiencing different cultures, and P related it to her professional identity
by stating that it made her better teacher with more objective and culturally rich profile:
P: I became more objective person, my general knowledge has increased a lot, I
became a better teacher. And culturally I can look at my own culture from more
objective point of view and here I can see the culture. It enriches you and good
language teacher should have very high general knowledge.
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4.1.2. Professional development
This finding embraces the changes in P in terms of her professional development,
explained by P as positive ones, “So changing the country, contributed a lot to my
development”. These positive changes are represented by three codes: More Practical Skills,
More Reflectivity and “Drive” for Professional Development. As to the first change, P
indicates improvement in her practical skills and integration of practice and theory in the
classroom as a result of diverse student profile:
P: I have to improve my practical skills with the students and here I have to use it
more because I am teaching in the prep school and the audience is very diverse, (…).
Of course here in Turkey I use more practical skills of mine but still we should not
forget that we should keep in mind that we should have good theoretical background.
The need to develop practical skills and strategies comes from the need as a foreigner to
prove her professional skills and diploma grades in action:
P: You have to prove …they (Turkish employers) don’t care what diploma you have.
My diploma is with honors…here they need to see not only your CV but they need to
see you in action. They need to see you not on paper but how you are at the lesson,
how you at the class, how communicative you are with the students, how interactive
you are.
The next effect on P’s professional identity is that she has become a more reflective teacher.
P indicates that she has become more reflective to her teaching in the new context due to
engagement with teacher research and teacher development activities such as, conducting
action research, and being engaged with mentorship and in-class observations, as she
explains:
P: Yes, so much more I reflect because while conducting this action research which I
did in Turkey, in the new country here, I had to go through lots of literature and
methodology […] I felt like I went through a new school. […] we had mentorship
issue, we are with the newcomers, we have to attend classes, this lesson sharing
procedure, and they attend your classes, as well, you are observed and when you
observe somebody, gives you a different inside to your teaching.
The last but not least professional change is that she has become more motivated and active
to develop herself as a teacher because she is a newcomer and foreigner. P calls her intrinsic
motivation “drive” to prove her skills and meet the demands of the new context by attending
conferences and seminars more frequently and becoming a member of PDU (Professional
Development Unit) in her institution:
P: … I wanted to develop myself more, I wanted to prove that although I am a
foreigner and from Georgia, but I can do better, I can prove that I am not bad. (…).
My professional development, my urge, my own drive inside because I am a
foreigner, to have to improve myself more than I would have done it back in Georgia.
[…]. And also I am a member of PDU (Professional Development Unit) because I
want to do it. […]. In Georgia I used to attend lots of seminars, conferences but here
(in Turkey) I do it more frequently. Here I grasped any opportunity.
4.1.3. Collaboration
This finding includes the shifts related to professional collaboration represented by three
codes: From “Individual” to “Team worker”, More Interactive, and Sharing Ideas with
Colleagues. P supports the finding by confirming that she is more collaborative now in
Turkey than she used to be in Georgia, “R: Could you compare where you are more
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collaborative, in Georgia or here? P: Definitely here (in Turkey)”. As for the fırst change, P
refers to her attitude change from working individually in Georgia to working collaboratively
in team in Turkey as a need to integrate to the new cultural context:
P: Back in Georgia I was more independent. I was not such a good team worker.
[…]. May be it was because of my reputation was already well established but here
(in Turkey) I have to integrate into the society first, culturally and professionally, as
well.
For the next change in terms of collaboration, P indicates that in the new context she has
given importance to interaction as a part of her teaching philosophy:
P: May be, good teaching is not only about teaching. It’s about care. If you really
teach from the bottom of your heart but you shouldn’t also forget that you are there to
teach and then establish some kind of relationship and the most important thing now
for this generation is to be very interactive.
The final collaborative feature adopted in the new context is sharing ideas with colleagues,
which was expressed by P as her increased desire to share her professional knowledge and
ideas and help to her colleagues by presentations in seminars and conferences:
P: I completed some new courses and, you know, way of presenting and sharing new
ideas with the audience. […]. And also I am a member of PDU (Professional
Development Unit) because I want to do it. I want to help people I want to share what
I know more rather than what I did back in Georgia.
4.2. Graphic Elicitation Tasks
The visual data confirmed the findings derived from the individual interview. First of all,
the timeline in Task 2 (see Appendix B2) reveals P’s moving to Turkey as an important
critical event on a biography scale. She has drawn more face expressions and phrases for this
event than the others like graduation and first in-service experience. Task 1 (See Appendix
B1) focuses on drawings and expressions about the differences between the contexts of the
two countries and displays clearly the changes which P has undergone after moving to
Turkey. Finding (1) Increased intercultural competence was expressed visually by P in task 2
though phrases like “open-mindedness”, “plural culturalism”, “tolerance” and face
expressions in Turkish context displaying the cultural adaptation process of overcoming the
cultural shock and becoming confident and satisfied at the end. Finding (2) Increased
professional development was confirmed in task 1 through expressions and images drawn for
Georgian and Turkish context. To emphasize the drive and dynamism for professional
development in the Turkish context, P used symbols like a car, waves, and words like “self-
improvement”, “instability”. In contrast, in the Georgian half of the paper, symbols like a
boat, calm sea, flowers were drawn, and “stability”, “steady” and “self-confidence” were
written to show the stable routine in Georgia. For finding (3) Becoming more collaborative,
in both task 1 and task 2, the phrase “team-work” was used for Turkish and “individual
worker” for Georgian context.
4.3. Summary
To summarize, transnational change of context had an influence on participant’s
perceptions, and both verbal and non-verbal driven data indicated three main changes in her
teacher identity: She has become a more intercultural, professional and collaborative teacher.
The reasons for these positive changes are given by P herself as the need for integration and
proof of qualifications in the new context:
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R: Let’s talk about your perceptions of “good teaching”. How did they change after
you started to teach in Turkey?
P: It has changed a lot. Changing the country gave me a special drive… […] back in
my country …because everybody knew me, that I am good teacher… but here (in
Turkey) you have to prove it… […]. I have to integrate into the society first,
culturally and professionally, as well.
5. Discussions
The overall findings were consistent with Social constructivism (Roberts, 2016) and
features of teacher identity in the literature (Beijaard, Meijer, & Verloop, 2004; Lasky, 2005;
Norton, 1997). Teacher identity formation as an ongoing learning process of framing and
reframing experiences is supported by the visual tasks (See Appendix B), in which the
reshaped conceptions of the participant are displayed on her timeline and contexts
comparison. Teacher identity as being affected by the context and personal preconceptions is
reflected in the changes of the participant after transnational experience and conflicts with the
new context. The teacher acting as a self-agent in the process of constructing their
professional identity is mirrored by the intrinsic “drive” and motivation of the participant to
integrate culturally and prove herself professionally in the new context. Teacher identity as a
dynamic system of conflicting sub-identities is represented by three main changes of the
participant in terms of intercultural competence, professional development, and collaboration.
They actually identify with her intercultural, professional and social sub-identities
respectively, which are interrelated, constantly develop and coexist in a dynamic system of
beliefs, concepts, and experiences. For this reason, this case study approached teacher
professional identity from social constructivist view as a complex, dynamic and constantly
developing formation, reshaped by internal and contextual factors.
Finding (1) Higher intercultural competence is consistent with previous research
(Menard‐Warwick, 2008; Patricia & Uchida, 1997) that transnational life experience helped
teachers to develop intercultural competence. However, these valuable studies focused
mainly on intercultural identity formation of the participants and the cultural aspects of their
teaching. On the other hand, my study had a multi-perspective approach and explored teacher
identity as a multifaceted system of cultural, professional and social sub-identities. My study
revealed that teaching in culturally different contexts affected not only the intercultural sub-
identity of the teacher but also her professional and social identity: along with her
intercultural competence, the participant developed her professional qualifications and her
interactive skills. Another difference from previous research (Menard‐Warwick, 2008;
Patricia & Uchida, 1997) is that the data from my study reported more handicaps and,
therefore, efforts during the adaptation period of the teacher. The reason could be that P is a
non-native EFL teacher, while the teachers from the previous studies are native or bilingual
teachers teaching abroad. It seems that P had to work harder than her native counterparts to
prove her qualifications because she is teaching a language which is neither her native, nor it
is a part of her culture.
Finding (2) Active professional development, was in line with the study of Borg (2010),
that action research as a part of teacher research contributes to teacher development by
fostering reflective teaching. The teacher in my study mentioned becoming more reflective,
objective and open-minded teacher due to conducting action research. This change is also
supported by Dewey’s role of “reflective practitioner”, “reflective cycle” and three main
attitudes of reflective teaching: open-mindedness, responsibility, and wholeheartedness
(Zeichner & Liston, 1996).
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Finding (3) Becoming more collaborative, is consistent with Dewey’s reflective cycle as
making decision in collaboration with the other participants in the process (Zeichner &
Liston, 1996), and with the essential roles of social contexts and teacher collaboration in
social constructivism and LTE (Language Teacher Education) (Roberts, 2016). Similarly, in
the present study, the participant has become more interactive, collaborative and sharing as a
result of reflective activities and interaction with her social and culturally different context.
From the discussion above it can be concluded that the present study is in line with
literature in terms of social constructivism, professional development and the concept of
teacher identity formation. The difference from previous research is the multi-perspective
approach to the impact of the transnational experience. This impact is not only on the
intercultural identity but also on professional and social identities, and on the whole complex
“ecosystem” of sub-identities.
6. Conclusion
The aim of the present study is to explore the effects of transnational experience on
teacher identity formation of an EFL teacher from Georgia, teaching in Turkish context. The
findings revealed that teaching in culturally different contexts might have an important
influence not only on teacher’s intercultural but also on her professional and social identities.
As a metaphor, this influence could be compared with that of the white ball in a billiard
game: first, triggering closest to it intercultural sub-identity, then, activating the interaction
with the other sub-identities and finally, reshaping the whole teacher identity.
The main limitation of the present study is that it is not supported by longitudinal data and
multiple cases to gain more generalizable findings. In addition, qualitative data could have
been enriched with other qualitative sources like personal narratives, diaries and in-class
observations.
Considering the findings, some implications are suggested. Transnational exchange of
teachers should be included as routine practice in Teacher Professional Development units of
education institutions. This exchange should include not only theoretical training like
seminars and workshops but also actual teaching sessions in the foreign context. What is
more, disciplines like intercultural competence should be included or reinforced in Language
Teacher Education.
For further research, investigations in different contexts and cases of teaching experience
in multiple countries, with different teacher profiles such as native vs. non-native, mono- vs.
multi-lingual for comparison, and with a deeper focus on the complexity of teacher identity
are suggested.
International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET) 2017, 4(4), 458-473.
467
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Appendices
Appendix A: Interview Protocol
Interview: 1
Date : 06/06/2016
Interview Protocol
Welcome and thank you for your participation today. My name is Emel Kucukali and I
am a PhD student at Yeditepe University conducting research study about teacher
identity. This interview will take about 60 minutes and will include about 14 questions
and two graphic elicitation tools regarding your professional experience and
perceptions. I would like your permission to tape record this interview, so I may
accurately document the information you convey. If at any time during the interview
you wish to discontinue the use of the recorder or the interview itself, please feel free to
let me know. All of your responses are confidential.
Your participation in this interview is completely voluntary. If at any time you need to
stop and take a break please let me know. You may also withdraw your participation at
any time without consequence.
1. How many years have you been working as an English teacher?
2. Could talk about your professional career in brief? (from high school up until now)
3. Where did you complete your BA?
4. How long did you work as an English teacher in Georgia?
5. How long have you been working as an English teacher in Turkey?
6. What are the main differences between contexts in Georgia and Turkey, in terms of
language teaching philosophy and policy?
7. Let’s talk about your perceptions of “good teaching”. How did they change after you
started to teach in Turkey?
8. Are you more collaborative now? Why? Give an example.
9. Are you more reflective? Do you conduct action research more? Give an example.
10. Do you conduct and read more research about language teaching? Give an example.
11. Which one do you rely more in the classroom here, theory or practice-based
knowledge? Give an example.
12. Do you take part more in professional development activities like workshops,
conferences?
13. What is the effect of TDU department, where you work, on your perceptions about
“good teaching”?
14. Did you have any identity conflicts as a teacher during your adaptation in Turkey? Give
an example.
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Appendix B: Graphic Elicitation Tasks
Appendix B1: Graphic Elicitation Task 1
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Appendix B2: Graphic Elicitation Task 2
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Appendix C: Final codebook
Table C1
Final Codebook
Theme Code Definition Example from the Text
Intercultural
Competence
Code 1
Higher
“Language
Awareness”
Participant indicates that as a
foreigner living in Turkey,
she has to communicate in
English and this has
improved her English and
language skills.
P: I think the language awareness of mine has
increased because I think my English has improved as
well because here (in Turkey), although I am not in
English speaking country I have to communicate in
English. Especially for the first year when you don’t
speak any Turkish at all.
Intercultural
Competence
Code 2
Higher Inter
Cultural
Awareness
Participant refers to herself
as becoming more tolerant,
ethical and open-mined to
other cultures
R: What kind of teaching approach you are using now
in the classroom, as a result of all these (culture)
conflicts?
P: Careful, interactive, less prejudicial, judgmental,
more tolerant from psychological point of view but
first time when teaching the language, you should not
forget about that either, but of course, you become
more open-minded to all the cultures and Turkey is
such a huge country which is very diverse in cultures,
it is like mosaic. (…). So, you have to be very careful
about touching upon your topics you are talking
about.
Intercultural
Competence
Code 3
Higher “General
Knowledge”
Participant refers to herself
as acquiring higher general
knowledge after
experiencing different
cultures
P:I became more objective person, my general
knowledge has increased a lot, I became a better
teacher. And culturally I can look at my own culture
from more objective point of view and here I can see
the culture. It enriches you and good language teacher
should have very high general knowledge.
Professional
Development
Code 4
More Practical
Skills
Participant indicates
improvement in her practical
skills and teaching strategies
in class due to culturally
different context and diverse
student profile (e.g. more
skillful integration of
practice and theory in the
classroom, developing
flexible and ethical
strategies for teaching in
culturally diverse contexts)
P: I have to improve my practical skills with the
students and here I have to use it more because I am
teaching in the prep school and the audience is very
diverse, (…). Of course here in Turkey I use more
practical skills of mine but still we should not forget
that we should keep in mind that we should have good
theoretical background.
.
Professional
Development
Code 5
More Reflective
Participant indicates that she
has become more reflective
to her teaching in the new
context due to engagement
P: Yes, so much more I reflect because while
conducting this action research which I did in Turkey,
in the new country here, I had to go through lots of
literature and methodology (…) I felt like I went
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with teacher research and
teacher development
activities (e.g., conducting
action research, mentorship,
in-class observations)
through a new school.(…) we had mentorship issue,
we are with the newcomers, we have to attend classes,
this lesson sharing procedure, and they attend your
classes, as well, you are observed and when you
observe somebody, gives you a different inside to your
teaching.
Professional
Development
Code 6
“Drive” for
Professional
Development
Participant refers to her
“drive” to develop
professionally in the new
context, the need to prove
her skills and meet the
demands, because she is a
newcomer and foreigner
(e.g. attending conferences
and seminars more
frequently, being a member
of PDU)
P: … I wanted to develop myself more, I wanted to
prove that although I am a foreigner and from
Georgia, but I can do better, I can prove that I am not
bad. (…). My professional development, my urge, my
own drive inside because I am a foreigner, to have to
improve myself more than I would have done it back in
Georgia.
Collaboration
Code 7
From
“Individual” to
“Team worker”
Participant refers to her
attitude change from
working individually in
Georgia to working
collaboratively in a team in
Turkey.
P: Back in Georgia I was more independent. I was not
such a good team worker. (…). May be it was because
of my reputation was already well established but here
(in Turkey) I have to integrate into the society first,
culturally and professionally, as well.
Collaboration
Code 8
More Interactive
Participant indicates that in
the new context she has
given importance to
interaction as a part of her
teaching philosophy.
P: May be, good teaching is not only about teaching.
It’s about care. If you really teach from the bottom of
your heart but you shouldn’t also forget that you are
there to teach and then establish some kind of
relationship and the most important thing now for this
generation is to be very interactive.
Collaboration
Code 9
Sharing Ideas
with Colleagues
Participant refers to her
increased desire to share her
professional knowledge and
ideas and help to her
colleagues (e.g.,
presentations to audience)
P: […]. And also I am a member of PDU
(Professional Development Unit) because I want to do
it. I want to help people I want to share what I know
more rather than what I did back in Georgia
P = Participant of the current study
PDU = Professional Development Unit
R = Researcher of the current study